


Good Old Days

by SaintOfTheSinners



Series: Good Ol' Days [1]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: AU, BAMF Darcy, Canon Divergence, Clint Barton is a perfect goofball, Darcy-centric, F/M, Janes is a super bro, Post CATWS, Sam Wilson Is a Good Bro, ScienceBros!, Slow Build, TW minor Alcohol, Unplanned Pregnancy, Women Supporting Women, awkward moments, deaf!Clint, pre-AOU, slight crack
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-14
Updated: 2015-12-12
Packaged: 2018-04-09 06:52:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4338251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaintOfTheSinners/pseuds/SaintOfTheSinners
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Steve gets the big news!</p>
          </blockquote>





	1. Part 1

Darcy Lewis distinctly remembers every single sexual encounter she’s every had. Well…nearly every single one. She remembers her first kiss in 9th grade, the roaming hands in 11th, and she remembers the pitiful performances of both of her college boyfriends once she decided that sex was something she wanted to happen. But the one thing she couldn't remember was the one she should have been able to remember. Captain fucking America. More accurately, fucking Captain America, and boy does she kick herself for that last mojito that she suspects is the cause of it. 

***

Sprinting through the labs in Avenger’s Tower trying to get to Jane while toting a plastic bag full of pregnancy test was absolutely not something she’d ever planned to do, but then again, she also never thought she’d taser the god of thunder either. 

“Jane! I knocked up Captain America and I don’t know what to do!” There are an infinite amount of better ways that Darcy could have handled the news about being pregnant, and she would have found a better way to tell her best friend other than shouting at the top of her lungs across Jane’s fancy-shmancy new lab, but she was way too busy freaking the fuck out to consider that maybe this wasn’t the best course of action.

Jane’s head, along with the head of one very startled Bruce Banner, immediately popped up from behind one of the many monitors touting data that made sense to only ten people on the whole planet, “I don’t think Captain America can get pregnant,” Jane’s confusion only made Darcy groan and flop into a seat across from the scientists and dump the contents of the plastic bag across the previously-sanitary counter. 

“Jane please. I’m pregnant with the spawn of a national icon and I don’t know what to do. Put the !Science! on hold and please just tell me what to do.”  
The other woman quickly softened and move to pick up one of the plastic sticks before immediately thinking better of it and choosing to only stare at them, “There are so many, why are there so many?” 

Darcy answered without glancing up from her hands in her lap, “I wanted to be sure, and one didn't seem like it was enough, so I took two, and then two didn't seem like enough, and it just got worse from there because they all told me the same thing and I really just wanted at least one of them to be wrong so I’d have a fighting chance,” her eyes filled with tears as her voice began to crack on the last word. 

Bruce cleared his throat, startling the two women who’d forgotten that he was even there, “I think I’m gonna go back to my office and pretend you didn’t just drop this bomb on me inadvertently.” He jabbed his thumb in the opposite direction and briskly walked out of the room and the conversation he clearly didn’t want to be in.

“Okay. Wow. Well, first off, are you sure it’s Steve’s? When did you even have sex with him, and more importantly, why was I not told?!” Despite what anyone could say about Jane’s tendency to get caught up in her !Science!, no one could say that she wasn’t the best of bros to have and for Darcy, Jane was the donuts to her diabetes.  


“Two months ago, maybe less? And I didn’t tell you because you were recovering from some serious inter-dimensional jet lag thanks to the last minute trip to Asgard with tall, blonde, and hammer-y. It happened the night of Stark’s April-Fool’s day extravaganza. Plus, I honestly can’t remember it, like at all, I’m only running on the fact that I woke up in the bed where justice never sleeps, with Captain America buck-ass-naked and wrapped around me like he was a banana peel who wanted to keep its fleshy insides.” 

The simile was sloppy and weirdly graphic, but Jane got the point, “Darce that was gross and I kinda don’t know why a banana seemed like the best comparison, but how do you know the deed was done, you could’ve just been naked because tequila makes you strip, remember New Mexico after the jack-booted thugs dropped in?”  
Darcy sighed and roughly raked her hand through her hair, “There was a decidedly awkward conversation after Steve woke up that basically confided that coitus was achieved followed by an even more awkward exit in which I used a Bob’s Burgers marathon on tv to get the hell out of his apartment.” Darcy wiped the tears on her cheek and gave a half-smile at the memory of her own foolishness. 

***

Darcy felt warm, like, really warm. As she shifted in the hope of moving the ridiculously warm blanket off of her she realized that there was a heavy hand on her breast and an extremely apparent erection stabbing her in the back of her thigh. The blanket was also definitely not a blanket. Her eyes flew open and spotted a pristinely white ceiling that was absolutely not hers because there were no glow-in-the-dark constellations painted on a meticulously chosen blue, pink, and purple blend.

This was not her apartment…….This was not her hand…..And this was not her erection. 

 “Ughmm. Darcy, remind me to never doubt the strength of Asgard’s alcohol ever again.” That voice. She knew the voice. The rasp of cottonmouth did nothing to disguise the fact that Steve Rogers had just mumbled into her ear from his position at her back. 

What the fuck happened last night?

With another slight groan Steve pulled them both up so they were resting against the headboard, and moved his hand from her chest to her hip. She couldn’t take it anymore, “Steve what the hell happened last night?” 

He quickly turned her to face him and gave her a an absurdly adorable furrow of his eyebrows, “Do you not remember? We were at Stark’s party and then we started to play some games that involved a lot of alcohol, and you and I went to the couches to get some privacy, and when the party started to wind down we both stumbled into the elevator and…”

“And? We both got smashed, got into an elevator and what else?”

“We got back here and kissed some more and we uh..” he coughed and rubbed the back of his neck, “we fell in to bed together.” By this time Darcy’s brain had officially turned to cement. “You uh, you don’t remember what we did last night Darcy?”

“No…no I don’t. I remember watching you slam back some mead with Thor, I remember the stupid beer pong game with Pepper somehow beating Clint, and I remember the couch stuff..kinda, but I don’t remember the, uhm, bed-falling stuff.” 

For a moment they both just sat and stared at each other trying to process the new information. And for the first time in her life Darcy was glad she decided to go on birth control based on her New York City Worst-Case-Scenario paranoia. 

“There’s a Bob’s Burgers marathon on today and I need to get going if I’m gonna catch it.” Darcy frantically swiped last night’s classic LBD up off the floor and wriggled back into it, not caring about what Steve would see because apparently he was already very acquainted with her body anyways. “I’ll catch you on the flip side Cap. I’ll pick up my bra and underwear and shoes at a later date. I’m outtie!” She threw up the peace sign as she practically ran from his apartment and straight to the safety of hers before she could further fuck up their friendship as Steve tried to process what just happened with the girl he’d been crushing on for months. 

 

***

“I’m outtie? You said ‘I’m outtie’ to Steve Rogers after finding out that you bumped uglies? Darcy Lewis, what the hell is wrong with you?” Jane could not wrap her mind around the stupidity of her best friend.

Darcy groaned, “I know. I knowwwwwwww. I’m a fucking mess. So what do I do now?”

“Isn’t it obvious? You go to Steve and tell him he’s your baby daddy.” 

“Jane, it’s not that simple! This will ruin his life! A baby is a big deal! I’m a scientist wrangler, not a mother!” 

Darcy’s mind went through all the stupid shit she’d done in her life and her stomach began to lurch with the fear of somehow fucking up her child. Her child. Her child. A baby…that she made with the embodiment of human perfection. A little boy or girl with blonde curls, and dark blue eyes, maybe a dimple. Hopefully with Steve’s artistic prowess, but with her quick-wit. They could-no. She’s not doing this to herself. She can’t afford to be caught up in all the happy possibilities when she knows she just made the lives of all the people in the Avenger’s Initiative 100% harder. Maybe it’d be better to get rid of it…  
But could she do that? Could she do that without giving Steve a chance to influence the decision? Could she do that without giving herself a shot at proving herself to be a better mother than hers was…than the countless foster moms that never cared at all. Darcy Lewis was a bad ass. And she knew she couldn’t give up on this kid. Not the way everyone gave up on her. With or without Steve Rogers, this is her child. 

Her child.


	2. Part2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve gets the big news!

It had been a week since she had told Jane about her baby drama and she still hadn’t told Steve. Yes, they’d hung out, done their usual movie nights and had their “Avenger’s family dinners” whenever the mood struck, and had their pre-morning-coffee banter fests in the mornings. But it never came up. She never brought it up and he didn't comment on her avoidance of him for two months after their April Fool’s Sex Fest (name A La the resident science Bra). Darcy figured she could get away with it for just a little while longer but that was before she found her iPod swaddled in a bright red mini-baby blanket with a bow and a note that read “CONGRATS ON GETTING KNOCKED UP.” 

Darcy knew who left it. She just wished with every fiber of her being that it wasn’t who she thought (re: knew) it was. 

As she made her way through the large glass door separating the different branches of the personal Science Bros and Bra labs, clutching the swaddled iPod, she felt the fear of god she’d heard so much about from her birth mother. 

“Tony, what the fuck is this?” There was no beating around the bush, she was going to lose her momentum if she didn’t take this problem head on. 

“Well it looks like an iPod wrapped in a delightful little package. It’s Iron Man red by the way; you can’t help but love the richness of the color. It tested very well in focus groups.” Clearly the snark was in full swing today, oh well, two could play it that way. 

“Delightful? I think it looks pretty cheap.” The spark in Tony’s eyes grew with the knowledge that she wasn’t going to dive straight in to poke the elephant in the room. 

“Lewis, I’m gonna chalk that up to pregnancy hormones,” Darcy visibly winced, “Darcy, you know nothing in this tower happens without me knowing. I have JARVIS programed to tell me any and all information that could have widespread consequences….plus Bruce has a big mouth when it comes to people contaminating his counter tops with their urine-coated personal items.”  
She flopped onto a stack of boxes that looked relatively stable and stared up at him, “Did you tell Steve?” she failed to hide the quiver of fear in her voice. 

“I’ll take the fact that you asked that question as confirmation that you haven’t. Tisk, tisk, Lewis. You really shouldn’t lie to a man who practically oozes honesty and courage.”

“I know what I’m doing Tony!” She really couldn't help snapping. This whole conversation set her on the edge on a knife and she was getting really sick of it. 

“Actually, kid, you don’t. You have no clue what you’re doing or what’s happening to you or what you’re going to do and you’re also scared shitless,” he kneeled down to look her in the eye and cover her hand with his own, “But you’re going to be okay. I promise. Once everything is out in the open you’re going to have the whole team behind you for support, comfort, anything you need. We got this.” For once, Tony was talking to her without any facade. He wasn’t Iron Man or broken or Stark or a millionaire, he was just a man who wanted to take care of Darcy because he gave a shit and wanted her to know that he was there, even if he didn’t explicitly say he would do anything specific. She knew. “Now tell the Capsicle, he’s been waiting in my office for a half hour wondering why I glued a stork to the door of his suite.” And there goes the moment. 

Tony grabbed her by the shoulders and led her to the door of his private office, “It’s sound-proofed so he still doesn't know what we’ve talked about. Go for it kid, I’ll be here to send you to Pepper when you come out,” At her quizzical look her just shook his head and said, “No secrets from Pep anymore kid, and she sure does love babies.”

With a final push she was in the room with the father of her child and locked into the conversation she’s been dreading every minute of every day. 

Steve sat in a chair pushed against the wall to her left and looked up from his shoes when she walked in. He looked perfect, as always, and her heart started beating a little harder as it always does whenever it senses his presence. 

“Hi.” She couldn’t manage anything more than that. 

“Hey Dee.” Somehow his casual use of his personal nickname for her made the whole situation that much harder for her to deal with right now, but she knew it’d just be better for everyone involved if she could just woman up and lay everything out. 

“Steve, you know how after Stark’s party a couple months ago we kinda…had sex?” God, could she be more awkward? 

“Well it wasn’t exactly a ‘kinda,’ there was definitely a lot of the sex.” He coughed and turned slightly away from her gaze. ‘The sex’? Thank god Steve felt weird talking about this too. 

“Okay, fine, anyways. We had sex and I left and I made things weird between us and I wanna start by saying that I’m really sorry for just bolting and not trying to smooth things over between us in the wake of our…experience.” 

“Dee, you don’t need to apologize. I didn’t make things easier. And furthermore, I was a cad and should have behaved better than I did rather than take advantage of you in your intoxicated state.”

Darcy sighed, “Steve please don’t play a martyr here. We were both drunk and made a rash decision with alcohol-brains. I don’t blame you for anything, so don’t blame yourself. Either way, let’s put that behind us for right now because there’s something pressing I need to tell you,” she took a deep breath, planted her feet, and finally let the truth speak for itself, “Steve, I’m pregnant, and it’s yours, and for some reason my birth control failed spectacularly and has managed to put us in this position. I’m sorry for springing this on you. I have considered all the options and I am going to have this baby and keep it and raise it no matter what.” 

The silence that followed her ramble was thick and laden with mixed emotions. She could see Steve clench his entire body and let out a long, slow breath. He stood and planted himself in front of her. He nudged up her chin with his knuckle so she could look into his eyes. 

“Darcy Lewis. I promise that I’m going to do right by you and our unborn child,” Steve kissed her forehead and gripped her hands in his, “Dee,” He lowered himself to one knee, “will you marry me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU FOR THE AMAZING RESPONSE TO MY STORY!  
> THANK YOU TO MY COMMENTERS AND ALL THE LOVELY PEOPLE WHO LEFT KUDOS. 
> 
> This is obviously the second chapter, and as you probably noticed it's a bit shorter than the first, this is because I'm an inconsistent piece of trash who is driven by my writing urges. (which is why this wasn't proofread as much as the last chapter). 
> 
> Hope you enjoy the second installment! 
> 
> <3 ya!


	3. Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all comments, subscriptions, and kudos. You guys are the best, and I can't believe you're all responding so well to my story!   
> Props to anyone who can guess what Thor is gonna need the tree for!   
> I have a pretty good idea of where this story is going now, so hold on to your hats people, you're in for quite the ride.   
> Keep on keeping' on everybody. If you want to get in touch with me or something, come chill with me on Tumblr at dam-rough-raffie! 
> 
> Have I told you how much I love you?  
> :) See ya next time around!

All Darcy could hear following Steve’s proposal was the sound of her blood rushing to her head…at least, until she heard three thumps and a loud crash as the glass door was obliterated by the force of Thor’s body slamming through it. 

“LADY DARCY YOU TWO SHALL BE WED IN A CEREMONY BEFITTING TO A PRINCESS OF ASGARD!” His booming voice made her nearly shake until she was a puddle on the ground, but she was in too much shock to move at all. 

“Actually Point Break, she’s not.” Steve and Darcy’s head both snapped to look at Tony who had followed Thor in with Jane trailing behind him.

Steve set his jaw as he responded to Tony’s blank statement, “Stark, this isn’t about you and you don’t get to decide what Darcy wants. Clearly we need to think about what’s best with everyone involved in this situation. Which essentially means Darcy, the baby, and I. Not you, so please let us get on with our engagement.” 

Tony simply pointed his finger at Thor’s still-excited figure and childishly stated, “But Thor doesn’t get to decide either, and he’s the one who burst in and stepped on your moment.” 

Darcy finally came to through her shock-induced haze, “Wait, how did you know about the proposal Thor?” 

The large man sheepishly shrugged and gave her a broad smile, “We were outside experiencing the joyous news you were sharing with our shield-brother.” 

At this point Jane stepped in to clarify, “We were eavesdropping to make sure you would tell Steve about the pregnancy and not try to run from it as you’ve been doing since you found out.” 

“Tony just told me this office was soundproofed, how could any of you even hear our conversation?” 

Again, all eyes turned to Tony, “Selective soundproofing. Having an office that’s soundproof all the time when you're in as much demand as I am seems a bit ridiculous to me. I just had JARVIS crank up the feed and route it to the lab speakers and monitors and voila! Instant reality tv just for us. And for anyone who sees the recording.” 

“A recording? Stark, that’s a violation of privacy. We’re in a delicate situation here; you really shouldn’t get involved in this.” Steve maintained his position on his knee on the floor but by this time had dropped Darcy’s hands and braced himself with his elbows on his knee.

“Cap you literally JUST NOW learned about this so-called ‘delicate situation,’ thanks to me by the way,” Tony walked further into the room towards the couple and pointed the wrench he’d been spinning throughout the conversation at Steve, “So do you really think you're in any position to preach?”

“Tony I’m just doing the right thing here so our child doesn’t end up being a bastard and we don’t need you getting in the way of what should be a happy occasion despite the circumstances, so you need to back off.” 

“Steven Grant Rogers don’t you EVER call my child a bastard.” Darcy’s 180 from wariness to unadulterated rage was swift enough to cause Steve to jump up and stand at attention, “Don’t you dare try to pin degrading, outdated titles onto my little unborn peanut here, or else you will regret every second of your life from here to the end of time. You got that.” Steve blanched at her threat and everyone in the room took a collective breath after Darcy snapped her mouth shut. 

“I apologize Darcy. I shouldn’t have referred to our child that way; times are different now and I should know better than to regressed into an outdated mindset. I’m sorry.” Steve’s slumped shoulders and sad eyes were almost enough for Darcy to accept his apology…almost, but not quite, “Oh no buddy, don’t apologize to me, apologize to peanut here.” She gestured to her not-yet-showing tummy with a flick of her hand and crossed her arms over her chest. 

She never, in a million trillion years, would have guessed that Captain America would be on his knees, slouching down so he was face-to-stomach with her unborn baby, but here they were. Gosh, he was so tall even kneeling his head was nearly at her chest…..bad Darcy, don’t be naughty. 

“Hi baby, it’s your dad here,” Her anger melted at Steve addressing the baby, “I’m sorry for calling you a bad name. You’re the best thing I’ve ever made in my life; I’ve made a lot of mistakes, but you're not one of them. I can’t wait to meet you; I love you already.” With that, he laid his forehead against Darcy and kissed her stomach. 

“So, that’s still a no on the wedding front right?” 

Everyone groaned at Tony’s question, “Stark can you just not right now?” Jane was sniffling and wiping her eyes, but was more than happy to smack the millionaire on the back of the head. 

“Jane, really?” Darcy chuckled at her best friend’s antics and helped Steve off the floor.

“Shut up Darcy, it’s the pregnancy hormones.” Thor quickly turned to his girlfriend with a blinding smile, “Thor I’m not pregnant it was just a joke don’t get excited!!” Thor’s smile dropped and he gained the look of a wounded golden retriever.

“Don’t worry Thor, once Janie here gets her Nobel Prize she’ll be open for business.” Darcy gave his bicep a slug and smirked at her science Bra. 

“But seriously though, it’s a no on the wedding correct?” 

Darcy sighed and faced him, “Yes Tony, christ, there’s no wedding.” 

Now it was Steve’s turn to look confused as Tony let out a triumphant noise and Thor got even more upset, “But why not? We’re gonna have a baby together, we might as well get married and do everything the right way.” 

“Steve none of this has happened ‘the right way’, we’ve never even been on a date. I don't want to get married just because I’m pregnant. If I get married it wont be a shotgun wedding, it’ll be planned and I’ll have a happy engagement with my fiancé and he won’t have proposed to me in Tony’s office just because he found out he knocked me up.No wedding. We’re not getting married. I’m gonna have this baby and then we’ll co-parent the best we can and move on with our lives as friend-who-just-so-happen-to-have-a-kid-together. It’s all good. You don’t have to be all noble and try to protect my honor. That ship has sailed a long time ago. Now let’s go, this glass is annoying and I have to pee.”   
Darcy strode out of the office trying to get to the closest bathroom and left the four friends alone. 

“Tough break Cap,” Tony patted Steve on the shoulder and followed after Darcy, “Lewis, wait up, you have to go to Pepper now too!”

Thor put his arm around Steve and gave him a squeeze, “There may not be a wedding, but still this is cause for celebration. Now, I must find a large, formidable tree for the unborn champion.” Jane just smiled at the new father and trailed after Thor, trying to find out why he needed a tree and trying to figure out what he was muttering about. 

Finally, Steve was alone in the room with a floor full of shattered glass, “What just happened?” 

“I can play you back the recording Sir requested me to make, Mr. Rogers, if you would like?” Steve jumped slightly at the AI’s voice, but quickly recovered. 

“No thanks JARVIS. But could you tell me where Sam is?” 

“Mr. Wilson is currently in the gym.”


	4. Pepper Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A brief interlude that is Pepper-centric

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello All!   
> Here's another chapter for you guys!  
> This is basically all Pepper, but it isn't the Pepper/Darcy scene you probably expected, that will come soon (most likely next chapter or the chapter after).   
> That you all for the reviews and support, you guys are the absolute best!  
> As usual, my updates are still sporadic and totally inconsistent, but I know you love me anyways ;3 (hopefully).   
> I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and enjoy the dip into more Pepper-centric territory because she will be very important to this story as a whole, I apologize in advanced for any mistakes, they're totally mine!  
> Sending y'all lots of love, but if you need more love, then come chill w/ me on tumblr at dam-rough-raffie :)   
> Peace out readers, till next time!!!   
> <3

There was a definite warmth that came with being in the presence of Virginia Potts. She was not yet a mother, not yet a wife, and had, therefore, not yet achieved what most women her age would consider to be “the most important things” she should have. Instead of a child, she had a company, and instead of a husband, she had a Tony. Though, it could be said that the two were interchangeable; married to work and mothering Tony. 

Tony is a 45 year old man who only recently accepted both monogamy and her love in one fell swoop; despite being ten years his junior she knew she could never love another man the way she loves Tony Stark, she was his and he was hers. 

Tony’s own daddy-issues caused him to balk at the mere mention of having a child of his own, and even though she knew he’d have a wedding to rival the queen’s if she asked, she didn't want to. Ask, that is. She’d kill to have Tony strip everything down to just her and him, and ask for her hand, and finally show her that there was one last mountain in his life that he wanted to conquer. Together. With her. But that wasn’t in the cards for her right now. Possibly, ever.

So since there was a good chance she’d never have a child of her own, she’d settle for Tony’s psuedo-daughter: Darcy. Not that having anything to do with Darcy could be considered ‘settling’. She was like another force of nature who was too good for anyone or anything to break down. Pepper had come to care for the girl as if she was her own daughter. What no one else seems to realize is that Darcy was, in a way, Pepper’s before she was Tony’s. She managed to worm her way in to Pepper’s heart from the very beginning. 

***

The day Darcy moved in Pepper was having, to be frank, a shit day. They were still repairing the tower from the Battle of New York, the whole building was up in arms after the SHIELD/HYDRA fiasco, and Tony had to interrogate/fire/imprison nearly a hundred employees who turned out to be HYRDA plants; this was Pepper’s life now and she was certainly feeling the pressure. However, on this particular day everyone was back at the tower for a re-grouping of sorts. Tony called everyone to assemble and she was there to make suitable arrangements for all the Avengers and Jane and Darcy. She wasn’t involved in the re-grouping session and she was thankful that that was the one area of Tony’s life that she didn't need to compartmentalize and take over, but still, that meant she had to take care of the two newest occupants. 

Jane arrived in a blaze of caffeine and rage and Darcy arrived in the only way she knew how: style (or at least her version of it). After finally calming down the irate scientist with the promises of shiny new labs and a hunky Asgardian, Pepper showed her to her floor she’d be sharing with Thor and sent her on her way to her labs, dragging Darcy behind her, with the promise that all of her equipment was there and none of it was “modified” (thrown out) by Tony-ISTHATSCIENCE?CANITOUCHIT?-Stark. 

After hours of going over Stark Industries most important issues of the day and handling all of the immediate problems that the tower was having, she arranged dinner by having JARVIS order in from any place that would deliver enough food for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and company, and set up the main common area with everything they’d need for a “family dinner”…only to find out that they’d taken off to Tony’s favorite shwarma joint. 

At this point she did the only thing she could do after a shitty day: she went behind the bar, grabbed a bottle of bourbon and started chugging. 

“With a spread like this I'm surprised I’m the first one here!” Darcy interrupted her binge-drinking with a bright smile that did nothing to cover up the exhaustion of the day.

“Actually, you're the last. Didn’t you get the notice? The team went out.” Pepper wiped her mouth and brought the bottle to rest beside her on the counter of the bar. 

Darcy’s face dropped minutely before responding, “I guess the boss-lady forgot to mention it,” Pepper just now realized that she wasn’t the only one left behind, “She has a tendency to get caught up in SCIENCE MODE and then she get’s caught up in THOR MODE which can only be broken by the SCIENCE MODE again. It’s a vicious cycle. But hey, this isn’t as bad as the time she left me in Scotland, now that was a crummy day.” 

Pepper let out an unexpected bark of laughter at the girl’s bluntness, “She left you in Scotland? She might actually be crazier than Tony when he’s in his mode.”

The young woman came over and leaned against the bar with the tired CEO, “Yep. Took her a week to realize I was gone, and by that time I found a pretty nice lesbian couple who was backpacking their way around the highlands before going home to London, they let me tag along and helped me get back to Jane in Surrey. That was pretty wild, almost too wild for me considering I didn’t even have my glasses with me. I couldn’t see shit.” 

Pepper coughed and choked on the swig of alcohol she’d taken at the beginning of Darcy’s tale before finally letting out a loud laugh she didn’t realize she was still capable of. 

“So did you do all this for the team?” she gestured to the long table filled with food and place settings. 

Pepper swallowed her giggles, “Yes, I thought they might like to all stay together for dinner and catch up for a while. They clearly had the same idea I did, though.” 

“Are we gonna let all this go to waste?” Darcy titled her head to the side and gave Pepper an innocent smile that contradicted with the mischievous look in her eyes.

“I suppose we shouldn’t,” she strode over to one end of the table, kicking off her heels and taking off her blazer before picking up two cartons of food, “Miss Lewis, as my new resident and partner-in-crime for the evening, I’ll allow you the pleasure of having first choice: Thai or Italian?” 

Pepper’s exaggerated ‘proper’ accent had Darcy cackling before bowing deeply at the waist complete with a sweep of her arm, “With all due respect madame, I believe I have a better idea,” she walked over to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the woman at the head of the table and placed a hand over hers on the bottle of bourbon, “I say we start at this end and work our way through it all while we raid Tony’s bar in retaliation for disrespecting all your hard work in putting this together.” 

“Kid, I like where your head is at.” 

So they did. The polished off bottles that Tony had stashed away for ‘a special occasion’ and swapped scientist stories over latkes, spaghetti, tacos, and other copious amounts of food. 

By the time the Avengers and Co came home both women were sprawled out on the floor in a nest of pillows and blankets and shouting obscenities at the television while it played reruns of Say Yes To The Dress. 

Pepper’s shitty day was saved by Darcy being there and treating her like any other woman. She didn’t have to be super-organized-Ms. Potts or scary-efficient-Virginia she was a woman who needed to let loose after a hard day and if it just so happened while in the company of a young woman who drunkenly mumbled “thanks, ma” when she wrapped the girl in another blanket, well, then that was her business.


	5. Sam-fucking-Wilson: Part 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lil bit of Pep and Darcy. Mostly Steve and Sam goodness :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHHHHH   
> I've been MIA, I know!!  
> I'm in college now and I just moved to a new state for school, so things have been hectic.  
> I'm having a rough time adjusting, but I'll be fine eventually.   
> Those of you who reviewed are the best! All my kudos, comments, and subscriptions are total angels to me right now, so thank you so much.   
> This chapter is a bit short because i'm an inconsistent mess, as always I own nothing but my mistakes (of which I'm sure there are plenty).   
> Have I told you how much I love you? <3  
> Drop me line at Tumblr if you want: dam-rough-raffie.   
> I hope you enjoy this one, here it is!

Darcy was crying, not that cute little sobbing-cry that attractive people do when they're upset, but full-on ugly crying with choking and snorting and all the ugly quirks that unlucky people get when they cry. The thing is, this is the kind of crying that comes from death or an equally emotionally trying situation, and not, in fact, from a lovingly crafted “Darcy’s Baby Journey” book. Darcy’s never even heard of a “baby journey book” before in her entire life, but here she was all emotional over one. 

The (frankly horrific) crying scene that Darcy was in the middle of was not actually what Pepper was expecting when she imagined giving the carefully made book to the young woman. At all. But because she was who she was, she whipped out tissues like a pro along with a bottle of her pseudo-daughter’s favorite pink lemonade and tried to get the girl to calm down enough so that Pepper would stop worrying that she’d bust into an asthma attack. 

***  
It can be argued that Sam Wilson is the most extraordinary non-enhanced human superhero in the whole world, and this is not only because of his skill in the air, his military prowess, or his super hot bod. It is because of his heart. 

He had heart when he was just a spunky young kid defending other kids on the playground at school, he had heart when his mother died in front of him and he watched his father crumble at the loss, he had heart when he moved into his grandmother’s house to help her when his grandpa lost his job, he had heart when he helped rebuild his dad to his former self, he had heart when he joined the air force, and he had heart when he took on the mantle of his wings with his best friend. 

But he lost it. 

He lost his heart when Riley went down. He went dark. He stared his best friend’s family in the face and mourned a man who had deserved so much more than what he was given. 

And then he had heart again; he got his heart back through helping others at the VA, and then got the opportunity to be a superhero and work alongside some stellar people. 

He got his heart…and also a dweeb named Steve Rogers who just so happened to be one of the biggest punks in history (he can only imagine what Bucky had to do to not put a literal leash on him). Which is how he ended up sitting on a mat in one of Tony Stark’s private gyms (in the middle of what was supposed to be his private and intensive workout) with the Star Spangled Man With a Plan and discussing the woman who has been running through his mind since she moved into the tower with her boss. 

“I just don’t understand why she said no. Sam, we’re going to be parents for God’s sake! We can do this, but only if we’re equal partners. All I want to do is make a nice life for Dee and our child.” Steve was wearing a rut into the floor, agitated by the whole situation. 

“Steve, you need to calm yourself down. Now, sit down because I’m about to drop some knowledge.” He waited for the telling sigh that Steve gives when he finally agrees to do what he’s told, “Are you ready?” Steve nodded, “Good. It is not the 1940s Steve. We are in the 21st century.” 

“Sam can you please not goof with me today, I’m having some serious problems! And you telling me things that I already know isn’t helping!” He once again got up and quickly went back to pacing the floor in front of Sam. 

“See, the thing is you don’t already know this because you’re actin like an ass,” he climbed to his feet and clapped Steve on the shoulder before turning back to the mat and beginning a series of stretches, “You’ve progressed a lot since you woke up, don’t get me wrong, but looking at you right now? You’ve regressed back in to an oppressive, 1940s mindset that is only going to cause more problems than you'll know what to do with. Darcy is one of the most independent women I’ve ever known, and that’s saying something. But putting her own personality aside, she’s a modern woman. And modern women don’t conform to the same ideas that they used to. Darcy is pregnant out of wedlock, so what? Single parents are all over nowadays, and don’t forget that she has you to back her up because you’ve got as much of the responsibility as she does. You two don’t have to get married ever in order to raise this child. You wanna be equals? Then be equals by treating each other like equals! She might even have a harder time with that because of her own personal issues, but that’s not my shit to tell, so you can pull your ‘wholesome Cap’ crap to help her through that when the time comes. Also, I know you’re kinda bummed that she didn’t say yes to your proposal, but think of it this way: why did you propose to her?” He looked at Steve for an answer. 

“I proposed because she’s the mother of my child and I car about what happens to them.” Steve furrowed his brow in contemplation as what Sam had already told him started to sink in. 

“See? There’s the problem. You know Darcy, does she ever do things that she doesn’t want to do? Hell no. So if she gets married it’ll be because she wants to, and what will lead to her wanting to? Love. Darcy is the kind of girl who marries for love and partnership and friendship and honesty and compassion and we both know that she won’t settle for anything less. You get it now?” Steve nodded, “Excellent, now get the hell outta my gym. I’ve got shit to do before Natasha comes in and kicks my ass out so she can do her scary-assasin-shit.” Sam shot him a wide grin before shoving him out the door that Steve didn’t even realize he was being led to. 

The door shut behind him and Steve turned with a chuckle, “Sam fucking Wilson.” He shook his head once more and headed up to his floor to do some heavy thinking. He needed his sketch pad.


	6. More Pepper and More Tony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy and Pepper, then Darcy and Tony.   
> A brief interlude before some more heavy-hitting chapters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't hate me for the inconsistent updating!   
> Just went through a long few weeks of school, but here's the newest installment! We'll have a time lapse soon and then get into some beefy stuffs. Hope you enjoy, as always thank you to my lovely story followers, commenters, and kudos-ers (is that a term? oh well).   
> Have I told you how much I love ya?   
> You're the best readers in the world! Sending you good vibes, and away we go!!!!

PART 6

“I can’t believe you did all this for me already, especially after everything you’ve done for me already. I just..I don’t know what to say.” Darcy was speechless, that also may be because of the 25 minute long sobbing fit she had, but it truly was because of how touched she was at what Pepper did for her and her unborn child. 

“Darcy, why are you acting so surprised? Did you expect me not to care, and just say nothing until you were ready to pop out the kid?” Pepper elegantly perched on the edge of her desk and folded her arms in a way so graceful that it made Darcy want to cry all over again. Here was this perfect woman, and she was helping her, some nobody from Illinois. 

“No, it’s just that you and Tony have given me so much. You know I never dreamed that I’d end up like this instead of-“ She choked back her words and let out a shaky breath. 

Pepper softened and again moved closer to the young woman, “I understand Darcy. I may not know all of the details of your life before Jane and before all this,” she gestured to the building around her, “but you’ve told me enough to where I know that things haven’t always gone your way. But I’m here. I promises you. I’m here, and I care about you, and you deserve to be happy and you’re going to need help. A baby is a big deal, especially in this world. You can do it. And just to make sure you can, I’ll be helping you through it. So, come now my dear girl, we have so much to discuss and so much to plan.” She handed Darcy more tissues and another bottle of lemonade, seemingly out of thin air, and returned to her place behind the grand desk. “Let’s get to work on all your exercise classes, doctor’s appointments, and floor renovations.” 

Darcy grinned, “You’re like my own personal Auntie Mame.” 

Pepper smirked, “Oh my little love; life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!”

“Oh Auntie Mame!…..Now what’s this about exercise…?”

***  
After an extensive 2 hour long planning session with Pepper for nearly all of her pregnancy needs, all Darcy wanted to do was scrounge up some food and curl up and take a nap. 

But no. 

Today is not the day for her to do what she wants. 

Instead, she gets to deal with Tony’s dumb-ass baby-crap ideas. 

“See, Darcy look, you put the baby in here, and then the turbo boosters, Darcy, are you looking?” He gestured to the large hologram floating above the lab floor before them. 

“Yes, Tony, I’m looking.” She was exasperated with all of his energy and ego right now. 

“Good, because this will revolutionize the way you live with your baby. Anyways. You put the baby in here and then the turbo boosters engage on the bottom of the capsule, so then the previous programming of the microchips in the Mommy-Cuff hook up to the Baby-Cuff chips in the capsule. Which allows the StarkCradle to roam and float freely behind you wherever you go.” He finished with a grand sweep of his arm. 

“Tony, I really don’t think-“ She began. 

“And that’s not even the best part!” He moved to another hologram and pushed it to overlay on top of the floating StarkCradle image, “It will be available in all of the Avengers’ colors. I totally get that it’s Capsicle’s baby, but considering I provided the alcohol necessary to lead to the coitus that led to the baby, I feel like I had a grater impact on the situation. Therefore, your first StarkCradle will be painted rad and gold like my Iron Man suit, so little Tony can ride in style. And then you can rotate the other colors in: Red and Black; Red, White and Blue; Purple and Green; Purple and Silver. You can’t miss!” He set the colors to cycle through so Darcy could see all of the variations he planned out. 

“Tony, I really don’t think that my little jellybean-“ 

“Little Tony.” He interjected. 

“Fine, Little Tony-wait what? I’m not naming my kid after you! Why would I name my kid after you?” Darcy shook her head at the absurdity of naming her baby after her boss. 

“Darcy, I literally just explained this to you, I swear to god pregnancy brain is gonna be horrible with you, I was instrumental in making this kid happen! So, you name it after me. No big deal.” He lounged back against one of his shiny steel tables covered with various junk as if he had just solved world hunger. 

“Nope. Not happening. I’m not naming my child after you. Steve and I are going to plan baby names when the time comes, but until that happens I am A. Not thinking about it and B. Not naming my baby after you.” There was a sudden bang on the table Tony was leaning on, and a crash as various parts fell to the floor. “WHAT BABY?” Clint dropped out of the air vent onto the table and pointed accusingly at Darcy.   
Darcy was stunned speechless, Clint look gobsmacked, and Tony calmly said, “Team meeting? Team meeting. JARVIS, please assemble the Avengers for a team meeting up in the common room so we can hash out all this baby stuff.” 

“Of course Sir, is there anything else you’d like?” 

“I think we need some pizza, just get the usual please and have it rushed to us.” Tony began shutting down all of his holograms. 

“Will Miss Lewis require her usual order of extra garlic bread with alfredo sauce Sir?”

Tony looked at Darcy who remained sitting and staring owlishly up at Clint and his pointed finger, who had barely moved an inch, before taking out his phone and snapping a picture, “Better double that JARVIS my man, it’s gonna be a long one.” 

“Yes Sir.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team Meeting!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hola All!  
> I'm back in black!  
> School has been rough and then life happened, but here's the newest chapter.   
> As always, thank you for your reviews and comments and kudos and reads; you are all so beautiful to me and I'm sending love and affection your way.   
> I really pushed to get this chapter to you, and it is admittedly kind of a filler before we can get into more of the good stuff. Also, as some of you might have noticed I added a new character to the tags....BUCKY!!! YAY! I've gotten some inspiration, and have been toying with the idea of doing some OT3-esque things WinterShieldShock style or just adding him to the story in general, so lemme know how you feel about that in the comments yes/no/maybe?   
> Please enjoy!

Part 6

Once everyone was settled in to the common room with their food, the chaos began. Tony finally managed to wrangle both Darcy and Clint away from the lab and get them onto separate couches so they wouldn’t kill each other with their bickering. Tony, of course, neglected to inform the other team mates of the nature of the meeting call, so they arrived suited up, or in his case, Bruce arrived like Bruce. 

“Stark, why are you not in your suit? How are we supposed to asses the threat and contain it unless you're ready to go?” Steve stood tense at the exit of the room. 

Tony just held out a slice of pizza in response, “What threat, Capsicle? It’s dinner time.” 

Steve sighed and set his shield down, “Did you get garlic bread?” 

“No, I didn’t get garlic bread: the one food that everyone in this room can agree on.” Tony indicated with the pizza to the massive stacks of garlic bread on the table, “So now that we are all here and there is food all set up, let’s get down to business.”

“Is it even possible for you to actually ‘get down to business’ and be serious?” Steve settled onto the couch next to Clint and began unstrapping his gloves and tactical accessories. 

Tony waggled his eyebrows, “Cap you should really be asking Pepper that question if you wanna know so badly.” Steve sighed in response. 

Natasha silently wound her way around all the couches and chairs that were sloppily pushed around a coffee table that was far too small for the amount of food occupying it, “Stark are you going to tell us what this impromptu assembly is about or just flirt with Steve all day?” 

“I think we all know by now Tony likes his drama.” Sam happily dug into another piece of pizza and sat by Darcy.

Bruce finally spoke up from behind the mountain of garlic bread, “I would like to know what’s going on, I have some calculations that I really need to get back to..” 

“Oh Brucie, what am I going to do with you? I suppose I’ll get this show on the road, mostly because I know this is going to be fun, gather ‘round children it’s story time!” 

Thor shuffled closer before flopping into an armchair with Mjolnir around his wrist and pizza in both hands; Natasha just perched on the arm of the sofa next to Darcy who was still glaring at Clint. 

“Alrighty then,” Tony clapped his hands, “Clint, would you care to share with the class?” 

Clint just grunted in reply without taking his eyes off Darcy. 

“I guess that’s a ‘no.’ Well, I called this meeting because Tweedle-Tits and Tweedle-Dicks over there were getting all bent out of shape in my lab and I figured we needed to get together and clear the air….also Steve knocked up Darcy.” Tony tensed in anticipation for the blow up of the team at his news, but all he got was the sounds of chewing and shuffling through pizza boxes, “Really guys? Nothing, no reaction? C’mon I wanted fireworks to go off in hereeeeee.” He ended on a whine.

“Uhm, congratulations?” Darcy turned her glare to Bruce, “Okay..nevermind then…” 

“Tony are you really surprised. We all know about this already; I knew before Darcy knew…also, dibs.” Natasha’s dry comment snapped Clint out of his staring match.

“NO FAIR I WANTED TO CALL DIBS.” 

“First: Nat how did you know before me?” Natasha gave her a smirk, “Scary spysassin, got it. Second: what dibs?” 

“It’s dibs on the baby which I should have gotten first, NATASHA.” 

“It’s not my fault you were too slow on the uptake Bird Boy.”

Darcy’s eyes darted between them, “What the what? Who the hell are you two, Rumplestiltskin? Are you gonna steal away my first-born child like a fucking fairy tale?” 

“Darcy, it’s dibs on the name. You’re going to name your daughter after me.” Natasha sipped her drink while grinning in victory over her glass at Clint, who was now back to glaring. 

Steve piped up, “Shouldn’t that be up to us?”   
Darcy suddenly stood up, “WHY IS EVERYONE TRYING TO NAME MY BABY?” 

“Do not fret Lady Darcy, I will make sure that we give your child a naming-ceremony fit for Asgardian Royalty! And we must have present this magnificent bread of the garlic nature! It is unparalleled to only Popped Tarts!” 

“Finally the blow up I was hoping for!” Tony finally settled against the bar and set about pouring himself a drink while the scene unfolded in front of him. 

Steve crossed over to Darcy and urged her to sit down and stabilize her breathing. 

“I really should have gotten first dibs, I dropped out of the air vent when I found out. It’s not fair.” 

“Clint, I could have called dibs weeks ago. I was just waiting to pull it out from under you when you finally found out. I am not disappointed with the results.”

Clint pouted, “This is bullshit…wait was I the last to know?”

“Yes. I knew, then Darcy took her tests, JARVIS gathered the data, Darcy told Jane, Jane told Thor, JARVIS told Tony, Tony told Pepper, Darcy told Steve, Steve told Sam, then you dropped out of the ceiling. Always the last to know.” 

“HAH. What about Bruce?” Clint smiled in satisfaction. 

“Bruce knew when Jane knew.” Bruce mentioned as he rose and left the room to retreat safely to his lab. 

“Well damn.” Clint began muttering to himself about always being out of the loop. 

“I hate to interrupt, but it seems as though we have a particularly nasty batch of mutated raccoons heading towards midtown manhattan that requires the Avengers’ attention.” 

“Thanks JARVIS, always on it, you are. Suit up everyone, I’m gonna go get Brucie.” Tony heading out to follow Bruce as bits of his suit attached themselves to his arms and legs, the rest flying after him. 

Steve hesitated and looked to Darcy, “Go get ‘em Cap, we’ll be here when you come back. Baby needs a nap anyways, right Jellybean?” she sent him a wink and patted her still-flat stomach before heading for her floor in the tower for a well-deserved nap. 

“Why is it that New York always gets hit the weirdest shit? This never happened in DC.” Sam slipped on his goggles and slung his wing pack back on. 

“HYDRA popped back up in DC, that city isn’t winning any prizes for not having ‘weird shit’.” Natasha dragged Clint to follow the rest of the team to the elevator with their gear. 

“…Are we not acknowledging the Captain America has a impregnated a woman?Nothing is as weird as Cap knocking up Darcy, I didn’t know he had it in him, and that did happen in New York.” 

Natasha smacked Clint on the head, “Not the time, Barton.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first contribution to the Avengers fandom and I'm sorry if my characterization is sloppy or OOC. Please feel free to leave a comment of any nature (especially constructive criticism/writing tips!)  
> Also, I've never been pregnant so I'm winging it! I own nothing but my plot bunny :3


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